tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-245021882024-03-06T23:42:21.560-05:00My Witt's EndThoughts and ideas about what happens out of doors.Clyde Witthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06963323844097867605noreply@blogger.comBlogger293125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24502188.post-48341326295314985502013-05-22T14:01:00.000-05:002013-05-22T14:01:05.804-05:00If Ornithology Doesn’t Work For You ...<br />
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FDR's bird collection tucked into a corner was tougher to find than a Kirtland's Warbler.</div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">You never know what act of fate starts a child down a career path. Sunday we learned a fascinating ornithological fact about our 32nd president. Susan and I made a stop at Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s home at Hyde Park, New York, on our way to the east coast. It was another of the National Park properties we often said, “Someday we gotta stop and see ...” Today was the day.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The tour of FDR’s home is something not to be missed. Amidst the collection of FDR’s sailboat prints and other navy memorabilia, tucked back in a corner that none of the other people on the tour noticed, was a cupboard filled with bird specimens.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We identified about 50 species in the cupboard, then asked the tour guide about the birds.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The park ranger told us, when FDR was about eight years old he began to collect and taxidermy birds. He emulated many of the things his cousin, Teddy Roosevelt, 26 years his senior, did. FDR was an avid collector, obtaining most of his species on home property, Springwood, at Hyde Park. FDR’s interest in ornithology continued until the boy was about 12 years old. A series of illnesses led doctors to the knowledge that the arsenic used to preserve bird skins back in the day, was the cause of FDR’s health problems.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The house at Springwood holds about one-fifth of FDR’s prepared </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">specimens, the remainders of the collection are in the Natural History Museum in New York City.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">And since the ornithology thing wasn’t working out for him, FDR had to choose another career path and the rest, as they say, is history.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">(Full disclosure: Thanks to Susan for the loan of the camera, computer, jump drive and patience required to produce this blog. No animals were harmed in its production.)</span></div>
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As up close as we were allowed to view. No flash, please!</div>
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Clyde Witthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06963323844097867605noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24502188.post-35396285673029405752013-05-03T21:06:00.001-05:002013-05-03T21:06:54.925-05:00The Golden Daze of Spring Migration
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Flock of American Golden-plovers in various stages of molt.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 150%;">Although it threatens my status as a curmudgeon, I
too-often say there are no bad days for birding; some are just better than
others. And then there are the days that are pure gold.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Spring migration seems to be off to a slow-to-moderate
pace here in northeast Ohio, compared with some years that feel like spring has
passed before you can get your binoculars up to your eyes. This year Susan and
I, joined by birding buddy Karin, opted for an early start, hoping to catch the
first waves of warblers and others as they passed through Magee Marsh on their
way to the Arctic tundra.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Blackburnian Warblers have that strange way of looking at you that makes you think ...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 150%;">After several slow days, the pace of species and
numbers of birds picked up. In the distant future, May 1 will be one of those
days we’ll swap lies about with other birders when they start in with, “Ya
shoulda been here when …” It was a golden day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">It was the kind of day that keeps birders coming
back, year after year, just like the birds. Of the many highlights, I think
top-of-the-list award goes to the relatively cooperative Golden-winged Warbler,
first spotted by Karin and Susan. This species is such a rare find (for us at
least) that we all figured it has been maybe 15 years since we last saw one.
True to form, I had put the camera away for the day and we were going to bird a
small patch of trees just to top off the day. Top off the day we did. I even
surprised myself at how quickly I could get back to the car and get a few shots
of the tree-top visitor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Golden-winged Warbler</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Earlier in the day we had tracked down an elusive
flock of American Golden-plovers. This species is not unknown in this area,
however, several birds in this bunch had molted into breeding plumage, a form
we rarely get to see. In the late afternoon sun there was no doubt about
identification.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Even earlier, as the sun was first making an
appearance, when birds tend to feed on insects near the ground, we had perfect
looks at another bird that sports a lot of gold—the Palm Warbler.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Palm Warbler</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Right. Some days are just better than others. We had
a week of those days and it ain’t over, yet.</span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Clyde Witthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06963323844097867605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24502188.post-58921118646025861952013-04-22T10:39:00.000-05:002013-04-22T10:39:45.497-05:00Ghost of a Chance
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<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 150%;">I was unsure if the
thundering noise was our house being hit by a meteorite or if the diamond had
dropped out of Susan's engagement ring. Whichever, it surely meant disaster.</span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 150%;">I dashed upstairs and came face-to-face
with a ghost bird.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 150%;">Well, it was the image of a
ghost at least. The near-perfect silhouette of a Mourning Dove was etched onto
our picture window.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 150%;">Another window strike. This
is a too-common way for birds to meet their end. It's estimated that millions of
birds die each year when they smash into windows. Exact numbers are impossible
to tabulate.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 150%;">At our feeding station, the
common precipitate for window strikes is the resident Cooper's Hawk, or his
associate, a Red-shouldered Hawk that's also been working the area with
frequency. I can't blame the hawks, they have to eat, too. When one of the
raptors flies in, or over, it's mayhem at the feeders; birds take off in all
directions, and our large picture window reflects an escape route into the
forest.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 150%;">What to do?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 150%;">Birding buddies Pat and
Karin found a solution to the window-strike problem at their home. Over the
years they tried several devices that were not acceptable, i.e. screening
devices that cut the viewing of birds to an unacceptable level.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 150%;">Pat discovered the Acopian
Bird Savers, </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 150%;">a clever
array consisting of single dark-colored nylon cords hung vertically a few inches
in front of the outside window glass. These nylon cords are spaced about
four inches apart across the horizontal width of the window.</span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 150%;"></span></span></div>
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</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 150%;">The idea is<span style="font-size: small;">, </span>birds used to flying through the woods can avoid
branches. The presumption is<span style="font-size: small;">,</span> they recognize these dark nylon cords as dark
branches. The Acopian Center for Ornithology at Muhlenberg College and Dr.
Daniel Klem, Jr. developed and refined this tactic using field tests in a
wooded opening in a Pennsylvania forest. It<span style="font-size: small;">'</span>s good science. The result was the
nylon-corded windows reduced window strikes by upwards of 90 percent compared
with unprotected windows.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 150%;">If
you’d like to save the lives of more than a few birds, here are a couple links
to explore: </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 150%;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.muhlenberg.edu/main/academics/biology/faculty/klem/aco/BirdsandWindows.html"><span style="color: blue; line-height: 150%;">http://www.muhlenberg.edu/main/academics/biology/faculty/klem/aco/BirdsandWindows.html</span></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.birdsavers.com/"><span style="color: blue; line-height: 150%;">http://www.birdsavers.com/</span></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 150%;">Now,
to get that ghostly image off the window, I’ll need the stepladder, the glass
cleaner, the … Or, I could just call GhostBusters!</span></span></div>
Clyde Witthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06963323844097867605noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24502188.post-39705535982897082882013-04-21T15:57:00.000-05:002013-04-21T15:57:21.796-05:00Earth Day 2013
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> A Blue-gray Gnatcatcher with attitude.</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 150%;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">E</span></b>ven though the barrage of news related to the terrorist
bombing in Boston and subsequent capture of the (alleged) bad guys is ringing
in my head, it can’t drown the rallying cries of Earth Day 1970. For a number
reasons, that late-1960s—early 1970s time period remains a bit foggy to me. I
recall going to an Environmental Teach-in in Washington, D.C. in 1969 (I think),
which I’ve always thought of as the first Earth Day. History seems to say
otherwise. Damn revisionists.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">One of many Hermit Thrushes passing through on its way north.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">I do recall how intense we were, determined to
change the world with our weapons of choice; signs, songs and marches. Our cause was just, visible and understandable. If people wanted to know who the
enemy was, all they had to do was look for our long hair, beards or uniforms of
jeans and tie-dye T-shirts. And guess what? We actually won a few battles! Now,
43 years later, Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson’s dream of environmental awareness lives. I doubt anyone
will say that for the acts of cowardly terrorists who chose to kill and maim
innocent people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLPw59KyD4wBKp92ybM_hz8lGDLVONYtPL8mCPMRFqWMyWGHwSxeVqFB1eQcZsnfLDFQDFVNdk3Jo2DPluNq7ce-9cnPqyROo1gBX1Emfr8Jv5C5u6RM8x-vpvSgTilQIcTQf0/s1600/NOFL.1.APR.2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLPw59KyD4wBKp92ybM_hz8lGDLVONYtPL8mCPMRFqWMyWGHwSxeVqFB1eQcZsnfLDFQDFVNdk3Jo2DPluNq7ce-9cnPqyROo1gBX1Emfr8Jv5C5u6RM8x-vpvSgTilQIcTQf0/s400/NOFL.1.APR.2013.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Northern Flicker takes a break in Ohio on her way north</span><span style="font-family: Geneva;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 150%;">This year I chose to honor Earth Day with my environmentalist-peacenik-birding-buddies
Pat and Karin (a couple of Northeast Ohio’s top-tier, mid-level birders), in a
search for early migrant warblers along the north coast of America—Lake Erie,
Mentor Headlands State Park in particular. Cobalt sky, temperature about 33
degrees, winds mostly from the east: Who could ask for more? We could,
actually. Seventy degrees and wind from the south would have be a bit more
comfortable, however, as a birder, you take what you get, when you can get it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">We didn’t set any records for numbers of species
(about 60, I think) or totals of birds, however, we had an eclectic mix of
passerines, many first-of-the-season friends we were glad to welcome back—or
say hello to as they head for Canada just across the pond. As we walked the
trails we talked of how lucky we are to be birders, enjoying the spring
migration, recognizing things others take for granted or see only as part of
the landscape.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Rusty Blackbird admires itself--as did we--on her way to Canada</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">We saw plenty of changes in our landscape of
birding, too. Things like piles of trash washed in from the lake during the
winter and the widening of what once were mere walking paths into roads. We
noticed the changes even if the birds did not. The big question remains: Are
the birds noticing the change all the Earth Day celebrations have failed to
halt—climate change? Stay tuned for reports from our grandchildren.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Happy Earth Day 2013. Peace, man. Peace<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">All I asked this Brown Thrasher was if that was poison sumac he was eating ...</span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Clyde Witthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06963323844097867605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24502188.post-15984849598775483282013-04-18T22:15:00.000-05:002013-04-19T06:36:28.414-05:00Goings and Comings<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj15UCPqQO1S2UEpCJqj1LQ59Ix7DTpC6or2m2_p2JOWM6JaQY5xlB7kOtcws503ZmH7l-nXgIVsWlzrLs_ycur90TrueeM5NYH7MuOjm8HH27L9EpInScmu7dl69Zbe9wrxNKE/s1600/Luna.18.APR.2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj15UCPqQO1S2UEpCJqj1LQ59Ix7DTpC6or2m2_p2JOWM6JaQY5xlB7kOtcws503ZmH7l-nXgIVsWlzrLs_ycur90TrueeM5NYH7MuOjm8HH27L9EpInScmu7dl69Zbe9wrxNKE/s400/Luna.18.APR.2013.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Luna: Is she half full or half empty? Is she half anything?</div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">I was sitting on the deck this evening, our warmest
night of the year, hoping to hear the high-pitched calls of migrating birds.
They’re up there and they’re moving. Tonight they had an extra boost from the
southerly winds, and a bit of moonlight to help with navigation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 22.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">The clouds parted long enough for me to get a quick
peak at Luna, moving through her orbit as she always does. The calendar said it
would be a half moon tonight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 22.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">(Wrong. It’s a quarter moon. What we call a full
moon is really only a half. The side we don’t see—the dark side—is where all the parties are. Picky, picky. Whatever it is, it’s gorgeous.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">And I thought about the migrating birds, distracted
by the zillions of useless lights blazing away in our cities; buildings all lit
because people with little or no concern for migrating birds (to say nothing of
energy consumption) think lighted buildings are attractive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 22.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">How many birds die in collision with lighted
buildings is a subject of much debate. Many hundreds of thousands is a good
guess. I’ve seen estimates as high as 80 million birds dead in a single year.
Birds navigate by the stars and as they descend from their migration altitudes,
lighted buildings and towers distract them. If they don’t fly into the building
they’ll often flutter around, like a moth attracted to a flame, and die of
exhaustion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 22.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">With the increase of wind turbines we can only be
sure that hundreds of thousands of more birds will die as we feed our
insatiable appetite for electricity. We’ll probably never have an accurate
count of deaths by turbine because when a bird that weighs 1.5 ounces gets hit
by a turbine blade with a tip speed of 130 miles per hour, well, there’s not
much left to pick up and count.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Pine Siskins stop for a drink on their way north</div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Earlier in the day I watched a pair of Pine Siskins
that have spent the past couple of days fattening at our feeders. This bird is
a rarity in winter for us, so to have them here at this time of the year means
the pair must have been farther south and are headed to the tundra, their
natural habitat. Along with the siskins was a Chipping Sparrow, a regular
summer resident who probably spent the winter in the balmy south and is now
back for a few months.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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A Chipping Sparrow, back from its winter in the south</div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Coming and going—in spite of all we humans do to
impede their efforts the birds survive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Clyde Witthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06963323844097867605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24502188.post-38617124426564959942013-04-13T16:25:00.001-05:002013-04-13T16:25:37.540-05:00House Hunting In An Up-scale Neighborhood
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheOBvhJwU3N25rFN3jy4mF3KG7xL1AuKdweC28KhaR2olGQxm8tvE59f9vLEdEusYxqtaO1-6weUHdFZBnVMBySSsDqi4viWUQ4v2VJhYk1fW9r4S-fXp0eu0LwPwZ3EcJGgoQ/s1600/BCCH.3.APR.2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheOBvhJwU3N25rFN3jy4mF3KG7xL1AuKdweC28KhaR2olGQxm8tvE59f9vLEdEusYxqtaO1-6weUHdFZBnVMBySSsDqi4viWUQ4v2VJhYk1fW9r4S-fXp0eu0LwPwZ3EcJGgoQ/s400/BCCH.3.APR.2013.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in -13.5pt 0.0001pt 22.5pt; text-align: center;">
House hunting always starts with a drive by, or fly by if you have wings.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">My mother discovered (or admitted) she was an artist
rather late in her life—sometime in her mid 90s. Her mediums were watercolor
painting and ceramics. In spite of, maybe because of, her Parkinson’s disease,
her work has a unique quality about it—whimsical; perky without being
pretentious. Because she knew of the appreciation Susan and I have for birds,
she created a strange acorn-like birdhouse that certainly appealed to her and
us, but not to the birds. Ever since she made the birdhouse we’ve diligently
hung it in a tree where we could appreciate its uniqueness. The most we’ve ever
seen inside of the house when we took it down were a few bugs and some sticks,
probably installed by a wren.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Until this year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">About a week ago we noticed some Black-capped Chickadees
paying particular attention to mom’s ceramic creation. As I watched I tried not
to get too anthropomorphic about what the pair was doing, however, the birds
acted more like humans than humans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibx3Xg7iFdGI0gIQrMaXofpKdA4VQWbat1ihkXBsMJ9Vy489KOJd9GjXt_nxs45UYWKkfiNxEpcNhASn2UNtriAGhEWf4vFwLXz5-Yg7KPYY7nKxZh6zz90SHGfeK-j0hZEUmN/s1600/BCCH.4.APR.2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibx3Xg7iFdGI0gIQrMaXofpKdA4VQWbat1ihkXBsMJ9Vy489KOJd9GjXt_nxs45UYWKkfiNxEpcNhASn2UNtriAGhEWf4vFwLXz5-Yg7KPYY7nKxZh6zz90SHGfeK-j0hZEUmN/s400/BCCH.4.APR.2013.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Does this color make my butt look fat?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Here’s what I mean. It starts with a drive by, or
fly by in this case, based on information they probably received from a friend.
Then they have to take a number of looks, even though nothing changes inside. I
suspect they’re sizing the place for furniture or workbenches or whatever
chickadees do in their spare time. A lot of time and effort goes into selecting
the right neighborhood since this is a serious departure from a hole in a tree.
This is moving into an up-scale, condo neighborhood.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
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Okay. Food and water nearby. No ferrell cats around. Let's do it.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Clyde Witthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06963323844097867605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24502188.post-39554412321989221792013-04-07T18:56:00.002-05:002013-04-07T18:56:59.230-05:00No Bad Days
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhzr2QrwY31RVmwSeIhiFp62R9522xqVYkYzfkV0-dey3GZ1iRmWiyTAg3WPwe6zDc2jjM5RbnTVMGO-Jsr4meSENKrSwEPhGTsp6o8yvd0XHpFa59mSn7DOMSsS3wWZtEUCfg/s1600/WODU.1.APR.2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhzr2QrwY31RVmwSeIhiFp62R9522xqVYkYzfkV0-dey3GZ1iRmWiyTAg3WPwe6zDc2jjM5RbnTVMGO-Jsr4meSENKrSwEPhGTsp6o8yvd0XHpFa59mSn7DOMSsS3wWZtEUCfg/s400/WODU.1.APR.2013.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Male Wood Duck practicing the Hokey-Pokey</div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Winter loosened its death grip on northeast Ohio
today long enough for some of us to do some birding wearing less than three
pairs of mittens and two coats. Susan and I opted for our 30,000-acre backyard,
AKA the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, to see if spring migration is truly on
the wing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Red-wing Blackbird</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">As we prepared to hit the trail that leads back to a
massive beaver pond, a young couple parked next to us was getting into their
car. She asked her partner, “Do you think it’ll be okay to take the snow brush
out of my car when we get home?” As the young man slumped into his seat he
said, “Well, this is Cleveland and it’s only April, ya know.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggv-xU3SFbap_yG-f_5-FF-mABWF4T4Bc4bLqJE3m_EjSshVcXFtD0JWkWIG5Nafpf1yQcPonsopcTrSR-pAZiXPJji6UjRRG9C-knLCGpYVK9ahgWfSVVcs08TZkaYMFQY0Ld/s1600/TRES.4.APR.2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggv-xU3SFbap_yG-f_5-FF-mABWF4T4Bc4bLqJE3m_EjSshVcXFtD0JWkWIG5Nafpf1yQcPonsopcTrSR-pAZiXPJji6UjRRG9C-knLCGpYVK9ahgWfSVVcs08TZkaYMFQY0Ld/s400/TRES.4.APR.2013.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Tree Swallows on a date</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Ya gotta be tough to live here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Regardless of the weather, there are no bad days for
birding. Some are just better than others—and today was one of the latter. I
wasn’t the only photographer on the trail today. Many of the others, however,
were taking pictures of the sun so that they might show their grandchildren
what it looks like when the clouds roll away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Male and female Wood Ducks</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Birders know there are often signs, subtle indicators,
that this day might be better than the last one. Our sign was a quick look at a
Winter Wren just as we hit the trail in earnest. The bird looks like a brown
ping-pong ball with feathers. No matter how hard we tried, we could not get the
little guy to make a better showing. Winter Wrens are always a treat; in April
they’re as rare as a, well, a sunny day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiocYi12YsxO02z6Z6JlrpYY5SnCkM06Lr-BOMszq63KH6c_TpsoLaDtEsoRH1M8Nb93mIlXcNtRowZhQd67dnIFXtLLx49NPA18SMsUdhDVrngfFKp0pSn1ZGLBUA-hdAXP4O4/s1600/NOCA.1.APR.2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiocYi12YsxO02z6Z6JlrpYY5SnCkM06Lr-BOMszq63KH6c_TpsoLaDtEsoRH1M8Nb93mIlXcNtRowZhQd67dnIFXtLLx49NPA18SMsUdhDVrngfFKp0pSn1ZGLBUA-hdAXP4O4/s400/NOCA.1.APR.2013.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 150%;">Northern Cardinal in his best </span><span style="font-family: Geneva;"><span style="line-height: 24px;">camo</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">I’ve heard many non-birders say that finding birds
is hard to do because they’re all that same brown color. Hmmm. At least at this
time of the year, nature has brightened up the scene a lot. In fact, the more I
think about it, the more I believe birding might be the most colorful pastime a
person can have.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Take a look at what we found in our three-mile jaunt
on one small speck of land on planet Earth. These are four common birds in
northeast Ohio. I just hope none of them has put away the snow brush away for
the season.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp6oiGKhid71KX5JJloRcVg-ulDL-ubOMonZ1KATJIXKIliJdG8EUr60SyLI3TQbrnyMqkMVUTmXnL0Xzn0dH2fHrb_Uz8Wt9v-I0pWYuG5oGaMpe_P9GOZs5qmrFNnDIVKS6u/s1600/WODU.3.APR.2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp6oiGKhid71KX5JJloRcVg-ulDL-ubOMonZ1KATJIXKIliJdG8EUr60SyLI3TQbrnyMqkMVUTmXnL0Xzn0dH2fHrb_Uz8Wt9v-I0pWYuG5oGaMpe_P9GOZs5qmrFNnDIVKS6u/s400/WODU.3.APR.2013.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 150%;">Wood Duck</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Clyde Witthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06963323844097867605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24502188.post-84196627479999867272013-01-26T20:33:00.000-05:002013-01-27T10:16:55.523-05:00 You Have to See It to Believe It<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
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<br /></div>
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</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLwryLH9i4HGBiWieqYUk19opWa5a0j9ctqZ5D7EF7UXEBCkNZORK_mKw7ADY_N8yC3B343dq2nc_dz5DhTCFDiNhWMnLXQU9kHTnqPFdcPiyhQOJjRNpCg3thiVlTWcYTKEIR/s1600/VATH.2.JAN2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLwryLH9i4HGBiWieqYUk19opWa5a0j9ctqZ5D7EF7UXEBCkNZORK_mKw7ADY_N8yC3B343dq2nc_dz5DhTCFDiNhWMnLXQU9kHTnqPFdcPiyhQOJjRNpCg3thiVlTWcYTKEIR/s640/VATH.2.JAN2013.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;"> Varied Thrush</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in -13.5pt 0.0001pt 22.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in -13.5pt 0.0001pt 22.5pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you look up the term “birder” in certain
dictionaries, you’ll discover it can mean “kindness to strangers.” Today,
Susan and I saw proof of it. We went searching for an extremely rare
Varied Thrush that has chosen Ohio for a winter vacation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Varied Thrush is a bird of the Pacific
Northwest. Occasionally one will show up in this area and when it does, alarms
sound and flash all over the region. The species is so outstanding,
author/artist David Sibley chose the Varied Thrush out of more than 900 birds in North America to grace the cover of his Western Field Guide.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The bird in question showed up on the feeder of a
young Amish couple, Naomi and Michael Yoder in Fresno, Ohio, a place so deep in the Amish
community it doesn’t even show on most maps. For us it was
about a 90-minute drive through some of finest scenery Ohio has to offer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Using directions posted on the Ohio Ornithological
Society listserv, we found the house and drive with ease. Well, ease because we have a four-wheel drive vehicle. And much to our delight, as we got out of the car, the bird was teed-up on the edge of the
feeder, 50 yards away, giving us great, but too-brief looks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After the bird flew and we did our high-five thingy,
I spoke with Michael, a nicer young man you could not hope to meet. He was
carrying a guest register and politely asked the dozen or so other birders to
sign in. He excitedly told me the story of Naomi finding the bird and I suspect he’s told
it many times. The guest register had more than 125 names on it, but it’s still
early. As the word spreads those pages will fill.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyWDB0TprL2cw63_I83I748NlO30qcdRdiKuhqMe5IVg-EZTk3LGpy9YajtCqCqrGtu2dn2Ewmgl8OgGKofOzshvqO29SlMy2Y38jo0iUDHlPvHn2xohaNqI58dWYNPrt8bUYr/s1600/VATH.3.JAN2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyWDB0TprL2cw63_I83I748NlO30qcdRdiKuhqMe5IVg-EZTk3LGpy9YajtCqCqrGtu2dn2Ewmgl8OgGKofOzshvqO29SlMy2Y38jo0iUDHlPvHn2xohaNqI58dWYNPrt8bUYr/s400/VATH.3.JAN2013.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">We waited around in the 25-degree temperatures for
about 20 minutes until Michael invited everyone into his house. He said the
bird takes hour-long breaks so why not wait inside? This is the third day he’s
been inviting strangers in to warm up. He told me that this morning about 30 people crowded into the small area off the kitchen, the best spot to watch the
feeder.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The plethora of birds around the feeding station was
amazing. It was while looking at a Brown Creeper that Michael spotted the
thrush and got it in his spotting scope, giving us all great looks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Varied Thrush is one of those birds that neither
words nor pictures can truly describe. Its mix of orange and black, the
intricate patterns on its wings and sides …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, you have to see it to believe it, and even
then you might not believe it. And when you read about people like Naomi and
Michael Yoder, well you have to see them to believe it, too.</span><span style="font-family: Geneva;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7NeTrkJBvMA4igAIRBM3gjFhzLTE2kKT5jw4fnvsuWFRsKDKlBEBM8E9v7l0ukIo4C3r1BmqdXeJBVfh3Vr6BykZvFJE6W54Y2A3cWmu8AtK99HgPHTo-FGcBEHEyYubOXV1Z/s1600/EABL-NOCA.JAN2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7NeTrkJBvMA4igAIRBM3gjFhzLTE2kKT5jw4fnvsuWFRsKDKlBEBM8E9v7l0ukIo4C3r1BmqdXeJBVfh3Vr6BykZvFJE6W54Y2A3cWmu8AtK99HgPHTo-FGcBEHEyYubOXV1Z/s400/EABL-NOCA.JAN2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Varied Thrush might have been the main attraction, however, the variety of birds at the feeder while waiting for the thrush was amazing. Here, an Eastern Bluebird and Northern Cardinal. We had 24 species for the day.</div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Clyde Witthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06963323844097867605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24502188.post-38580170493292123612013-01-24T17:25:00.002-05:002013-01-24T17:25:33.223-05:00Would You Prefer the Red or the White?
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiknWi3HRZOUguhtUoXBPTTnNjFNdrfHzKoJj3roXa9fl1FtPRHxJHLyabww95j6wkIfLIGjFc0oY-v6qCZWdz5QumaoP967yQrrjKQw9r7ibIz8dTlvtGv9C57yDPE5kMbr5l1/s1600/RBNU.JAN2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiknWi3HRZOUguhtUoXBPTTnNjFNdrfHzKoJj3roXa9fl1FtPRHxJHLyabww95j6wkIfLIGjFc0oY-v6qCZWdz5QumaoP967yQrrjKQw9r7ibIz8dTlvtGv9C57yDPE5kMbr5l1/s400/RBNU.JAN2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Red-breasted Nuthatch</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Nuthatches, that is. Our part of the planet hosts only two of the four
possible nuthatches in this country, the Red-breasted and the White-breasted.
Well, in an attempt to be totally accurate, I have to toss in the Brown
Creeper, making it five species in two genera. The creeper is in the
Certhiidae genera, so … well, it’s complicated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Our more common nuthatch is the white breasted. I know there are
reports of red breasteds nesting in the region, our yard on the edge of the
Cuyahoga Valley National Park, is not one of those spots. Consequently, when we
see the first Red-breasted Nuthatch of the season, usually early fall if we’re
lucky, we’re out doing the happy dance in hopes he’ll stick around through the
winter before heading back north to Canada, his usual habitat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">This season we’ve had a pair of red breasteds, along with several white
breasted and, much to our enjoyment, a Brown Creeper, hanging out at the
feeding station. Even a black and white bird manages to stand out on a snowy
day. The creeper, one of the better camouflaged birds around is more often
heard than seen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2U7DYXMwPM_zMIn8_HVTn-Cn_99naktK4mSBFlL7pp4APAdX0RNpJSuVJIelcbJk18wMNNtxNfs8vFyYN1L2-KcFxXs2ccfvMnnK5nqdSc-G2O4MmYWFTJS8_UccERDyjWrKF/s1600/WBNU.JAN2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2U7DYXMwPM_zMIn8_HVTn-Cn_99naktK4mSBFlL7pp4APAdX0RNpJSuVJIelcbJk18wMNNtxNfs8vFyYN1L2-KcFxXs2ccfvMnnK5nqdSc-G2O4MmYWFTJS8_UccERDyjWrKF/s400/WBNU.JAN2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">White-breasted Nuthatch</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The three species are easy enough to sort out by their distinctive
color patterns and shapes. In the twilight or early morning, or when the
lighting is not good, you can separate the nuthatches from the creepers by the
way they climb trees. Nuthatches move head down (usually), feeding on insects
or stashing sunflower seeds. The creeper works its way from the bottom of the
tree, up, using its tail as a prop, much like woodpeckers. And, as if it
matters, there’s the size thing: red breasteds are the more diminutive of the
three, measuring about 4.5 inches in body length. Creepers come in at about
5.25 and the white breasted is the giant at 5.75 inches.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in -13.5pt 0.0001pt 22.5pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">We’ve added peanuts to our feed offerings this winter and have
discovered that either red or white goes fine with peanuts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYQim01xgswYw6Dp0uJmME-Jqtfeq8ROlc3hr3kizU5BknGtlJxeUrTP_AGInU3HemxVfMKlHvMPll-u5jv5ucLCPzqmSi5eOLLgmBl8H5j9BJ7fmQP-g4rhgXgovzVkgFKkSr/s1600/BRCR.JAN2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYQim01xgswYw6Dp0uJmME-Jqtfeq8ROlc3hr3kizU5BknGtlJxeUrTP_AGInU3HemxVfMKlHvMPll-u5jv5ucLCPzqmSi5eOLLgmBl8H5j9BJ7fmQP-g4rhgXgovzVkgFKkSr/s400/BRCR.JAN2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Brown Creeper</span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Clyde Witthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06963323844097867605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24502188.post-9599825970424145802013-01-23T20:04:00.000-05:002013-01-23T20:04:25.312-05:00Let's Do Lunch
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<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxQt21gR6hoyKonyxQNzzDTl-4gKKIiCHCSfEAST0W_YooVGWv4SIoBM3rz09cM0Jbl8-ToyeXMRrJ_y0m1pcf77PTC3cARanZNvLtH5ZtQHB7bbGynFwAeHD8nnPpkWnaOGQr/s1600/CEWA.4.22JAN2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxQt21gR6hoyKonyxQNzzDTl-4gKKIiCHCSfEAST0W_YooVGWv4SIoBM3rz09cM0Jbl8-ToyeXMRrJ_y0m1pcf77PTC3cARanZNvLtH5ZtQHB7bbGynFwAeHD8nnPpkWnaOGQr/s320/CEWA.4.22JAN2012.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: 4.5pt .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">They’re called Cedar Waxwings, a bird the namers got right. The name
comes from what appears to be drips of red wax on the tips of the secondary
wing feathers. Young birds are missing this bit of bling some ornithologists think plays a role in mate selection.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: 4.5pt .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">They’re a social species, measuring about seven inches in body length and found throughout the country. And for birders, they're a
tough one to see at eye level. More often the birds are picking fruit in the
tops of trees or flying past in flocks of a dozen or so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjroFKKRtJV5oQhPBmC7mMHkQU4UVSlkQ2f7xUyR_6lSpkClUNOoOyecuqf6GX0lGhcRFBwhMZoM0hR7v3X2BcXAdwG_bdloTOMqdcns6I-HTKyzhaKeyUvXuTY7cK_5F9lU_lN/s1600/CEWA3.22.JAN2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjroFKKRtJV5oQhPBmC7mMHkQU4UVSlkQ2f7xUyR_6lSpkClUNOoOyecuqf6GX0lGhcRFBwhMZoM0hR7v3X2BcXAdwG_bdloTOMqdcns6I-HTKyzhaKeyUvXuTY7cK_5F9lU_lN/s320/CEWA3.22.JAN2012.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: 4.5pt .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">We’ve been fortunate this winter to have a flock that has decimated the remaining fruits on the crabapple tree and Bradford pear trees in our yard. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: 4.5pt .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Also fortunate for us, they’ve been stopping by everyday right around
lunch time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Bon appetit!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Clyde Witthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06963323844097867605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24502188.post-24716070158878398142013-01-21T20:49:00.000-05:002013-01-22T08:49:39.711-05:00Dancing With the Moon<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">Jupiter, upper left, prepares to pass over the moon, January 21, 2012.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=24502188" name="_GoBack"></a><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0.5in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Anyone living in northeast Ohio and having astronomy
as a hobby knows the perils. I read somewhere we only have 30 percent of our
nights when the sky is clear. And you can guess the odds when there’s something
special to see.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0.5in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Tonight we got lucky, for the most part. The
celestial event for tonight, long in the making, was a conjunction of the
planet Jupiter (second brightest) and the moon, which is just past its
waxing-quarter stage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0.5in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">The odds were not in our favor: A lake-effect, snowstorm
was blasting the eastern counties, and temperatures were heading toward single
digits. We were still at a balmy 15 degrees at 8 p.m.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0.5in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">What’s life without a few challenges? The peak of
the conjunction, when the moon and Jupiter would appear to be within one degree
of each other (less than the width of your finger when held at arm’s length),
would happen around 11:30 p.m. Bad news. By then winds were predicted to shift,
bringing in clouds and snow. We’d miss the moment when it appears the Moon
slides below Jupiter. Although another Moon-Jupiter conjunction is slated for
March 17<sup>th</sup>, I thought it best to strike while the iron was hot—so to
speak.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0.5in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">It was a glorious sight. Susan and I watched clouds
race overhead against the moon and planet, so bright they shown through
creating the illusion of the clouds being behind the moon. Slightly above and
to the right of the moon, the star cluster Pleiades, the Seven Sisters, fought
for attention; begging observers to try and count the sisters. To the left and
below, the brilliant orange-red star, Aldebaran stood out like a directional
beacon for the passing clouds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0.5in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">At our location the show ended around 8:30 when
light snow began to fall. It was, however, well worth the price of admission.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">P.S. Just before turning in for the night, I took one last look and, guess what? We had a break in the clouds permitting this shot of the conjunction. The two pictures are separated by about three hours.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8hTML33yrkHCZbZbY8fi_Jj03WDE0BS1vN5Hg49fynBzLrle96NE3ix68n1TsTK9WZbZxqDiEx6D39X7qbueJZob8OWgffjZrCJBGBEXWjOSm_K4DNEebX7HmSCjTWi-Oclmp/s1600/MoonJupiter.2.JAN2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8hTML33yrkHCZbZbY8fi_Jj03WDE0BS1vN5Hg49fynBzLrle96NE3ix68n1TsTK9WZbZxqDiEx6D39X7qbueJZob8OWgffjZrCJBGBEXWjOSm_K4DNEebX7HmSCjTWi-Oclmp/s400/MoonJupiter.2.JAN2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<!--EndFragment-->Clyde Witthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06963323844097867605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24502188.post-74603300485081226302013-01-16T19:49:00.001-05:002013-01-16T19:49:53.697-05:00 Yes, Maybe, No<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vAbO1YH8RkUWsrExMdBw9i8qejZC5tGqR5EOw6P-diG81dd3fAEwj1iBN4Gb4K089Ci1jPzWhfTtFVP2RBiBb-RoMVLVpjRE-YSe3ERhr3d3D7yrrXZ7DbRjPuYuMNnaNDl6/s1600/BOWA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vAbO1YH8RkUWsrExMdBw9i8qejZC5tGqR5EOw6P-diG81dd3fAEwj1iBN4Gb4K089Ci1jPzWhfTtFVP2RBiBb-RoMVLVpjRE-YSe3ERhr3d3D7yrrXZ7DbRjPuYuMNnaNDl6/s400/BOWA.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;">
Cedar Waxwing, upper left, along with rare Bohemian Waxwing</div>
<div style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Saturday was one of those weather bonus days here in northeast Ohio. Temperatures snuggled up to the low 60s and the birding hotline made it seem even warmer with reports of special birds in the area.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Susan and I packed up the Red Comet and blasted off for Holden Arboretum, a gem of a spot in Geauga County where an extremely rare visitor, a Bohemian Waxwing, was reported late Friday. When a bird is a lifer for us both there’s no holding back.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Sometimes it’s just too easy. We pulled into the entrance of the arboretum and immediately spotted a half dozen birders. (It’s easy to spot birders when they’re on the bird. Their feet are not touching the ground and they’re making strange squeaking sounds, like “heereee heeree”.)</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Sure enough, there the bird sat in the sun with a large flock of Cedar Waxwings. Yes! Got it. Click, click. Then wooooosh, off the flock went. Sharp-eyed Susan was able to get her spotting scope on the bird in a far-off tree, much to the enjoyment of late arrivers.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL0SYspxoASGZFnvrdSL8_XAoyDxxd8avYtdJ0fCy0WjhQoxKZeWEBEgjq04a6CNBtzp-tpygqPo1iTk8RAwxlQKUJzKTlIGRvd9TmkyCHl8UT9-K08JQELQGmsvywdc_AHZED/s1600/CORE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL0SYspxoASGZFnvrdSL8_XAoyDxxd8avYtdJ0fCy0WjhQoxKZeWEBEgjq04a6CNBtzp-tpygqPo1iTk8RAwxlQKUJzKTlIGRvd9TmkyCHl8UT9-K08JQELQGmsvywdc_AHZED/s400/CORE.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Common Redpoll</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Then it was on to another spot within the arboretum where a second rare visitor, a Hoary Redpoll, had been seen and reported. This was not a lifer for us, but a rare species we seen only once before and needed a better look at. Again, it was easy to find the spot where the bird had been seen. A dozen or so of the region’s better-known birders were already on the scene, politely debating the merits of several possible Hoary Redpolls. These little guys (the birds, not the birders) are a bit of a challenge to separate out from the more common, aaaa, Common Redpoll. Subtle differences in color, streaking, bill size, under-tail coverts ... Right. Birders spend a lot of time looking at butts.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We saw plenty of redpolls. We feel secure that we saw at least one Hoary Redpoll, maybe two. So tick that one off, even if it is in the Maybe column.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Our third target bird, the crossbills, and we had our choice of Red or White-winged species, proved to be no shows. They’ve been reported throughout the area, just not where we happened to be at the time. The bright side is that there are still 67 days until spring, so these visitors from the north will be around for a while. Stay tuned.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It's a bit lighter in color, beak a bit smaller, pink a bit less pink. Is it a Hoary Redpoll. Maybe.</span></div>
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Clyde Witthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06963323844097867605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24502188.post-20638311468265903922012-12-15T16:57:00.000-05:002012-12-15T16:57:48.216-05:00Old Moon in the New Moon’s Arms<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It was one of those evenings, two nights ago. Half my brain said, “No way can you get that shot.” Another half of my brain said, “Tough, but doable.” And the third half of my brain said, “Better to live life as a wolf than a shitty sheep dog.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It was a classic three-day moon; the old moon in the new moon’s arms; earthshine helped define the nearby sphere.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">When the Moon appears as a slender crescent, a chewed off fingernail, a dazzlingly bright, nearly full Earth can be seen, reflected on the surface of the moon. The Earth's brightness, due to reflected sunlight, is strongly influenced by cloud cover and recent<u> </u></span><a href="http://www.bbso.njit.edu/Research/EarthShine/" style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #021eaa; letter-spacing: 0px;">studies of Earthshine</span></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><u> </u>indicate that it is more pronounced during April and May. A description of Earthshine, in terms of sunlight reflected by Earth's oceans, in turn illuminating the Moon's dark surface, was written more than 500 years ago by </span><a href="http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/codex/2A2r.html" style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #021eaa; letter-spacing: 0px;">Leonardo da Vinci</span></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It’s called ashen glow, Earthshine, even Da Vinci Glow. It’s possible at this time of the lunation cycle when the moon is at the same relative distance from the sun, but waning.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Pretty, but so what. Well, </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">scientists observe this reflection to measure the so called ‘albedo’ of the Earth, in order to determine the global cloud cover. This is so because oceans reflect less light than continents, approximately 10 %, while land masses reflect from 10 to 25%, but clouds up to 50%. These calculations are helpful to determine differences in cloud covers throughout long periods of time, used principally in measuring the effects of climate change. The overall results obtained are still somewhat unclear, but nevertheless important to learn more secrets about this place we call home.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Jumpin’ Jupiter, Geminid Meteors, luny Moons. On clear nights in northeast Ohio, the astronomy hobby is looking up.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Hooooooowoooooooooo</span></div>
Clyde Witthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06963323844097867605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24502188.post-74970437235516195512012-11-27T18:02:00.000-05:002012-11-27T18:02:54.808-05:00We Coulda Gone Shopping<br />
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Brown Pelican at sunset</div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0px;">I read in the paper, several days after the fact, that Black Friday’s online shoppers spent about a billion bucks; Monday’s crowd $pent another 1.5 billon and there’s more to come--or go.</span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Birding buddies Pat and Karin, along with Susan and I, opted to do something different. We headed to South Carolina for some serious birding--well, as serious as it gets for us. The impetus for this adventure was the fact that Pat had visited every state in the union except South Carolina; reason enough for an adventure. We’d heard and read lots of good things about birding in the area of Huntington Beach State Park, it was a holiday and campsites were available. So what’s not to like?</span></div>
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Saltmash Sharp-tailed Sparrow</div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Twenty-three hundred miles and 100-plus species later, I can tell you it was one great trip, assuming you like seeing thousands of perfectly choreographed Black Skimmers in flight, Wood Storks fishing 25 feet from your feet, and one of the more endangered birds on the plant, Red Knots, 57 of them, feeding like there’s no tomorrow--and for them, that might be the case.</span></div>
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A skulking Clapper Rail provided an excellent photo op</div>
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Perfect camo colors of the American Bittern</div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Okay, so maybe sleeping on the ground when temperatures are a balmy 29 degrees is not for everyone. For us, the rustic tent sites (that’s what they're called) were perfect for our week-long adventure. Although there were many other spots to bird in the region, we found the Huntington Beach area most attractive. The joy of romantic, long walks on the beach lugging tons of spotting scopes, camera gear and day packs filled with almost-nutritious snacks are the things birders look forward to. Susan and I needed time to relax and unwind from the stresses of being retired, ya know. Youngsters Pat and Karin do have jobs so I guess it was relaxing for them, too.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">A Wood Stork positions its lunch</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">There were many highlights during this trip; good and not-so-good restaurants, Great Horned Owls serenading while we set up our tent the first day, and happening upon a small group of Wood Storks feeding close to the road on our way out the last day.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Of ornithological importance was Pat’s early Friday morning sighting and identification of a group of Red Knots, an endangered species. Pat returned to camp with the news and we flocked (that’s what birders do) to the beach. We were able to get close enough to the birds to read the leg tags on several, even to see a tracking device on one bird. I’ll be reporting on the results of these tagged birds. </span>Red knots undertake one of nature’s longest migrations, flying from the
southern tip of Chile and Argentina in Tierra del Fuego to the high
arctic tundra, where they breed. About 13,000 miles roundtrip. On the way, they stop along the
Delaware Bay, timing their arrival with late spring’s full-moon tides,
when horseshoe crabs crawl out of the surf by the thousands to lay their
olive-colored eggs above the water’s edge.</div>
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A half dozen of the 57 Red Knots we saw. Note the yellow positioning device on the center bird.</div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Seventy-five percent of the birders in our group of four are not as addicted to listing as me. So I have to toss in the fact that I saw life bird (lower 48 states, no pelagic trips) number 606, a Purple Sandpiper. Again, the high-five for that one goes out to sharp-eyed Pat who spotted it loafing within a group of about 100+ Dunlin, a quarter mile away. Any questions about why we enjoy birding with Pat and Karin?</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Isolated from the daily news, somewhat concerned about peace in the Middle East (hey, that war has been going on for 10,000 years so I hardly expected to hear anything positive), and happy to not see a big box store for a week, made each birding highlight shine a bit brighter. I think only one or two dozen times a day did I say, “Well, we coulda gone shopping.”</span></div>
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A small fraction of the Black Skimmers at Huntington Beach State Park</div>
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Clyde Witthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06963323844097867605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24502188.post-59104179080835706582012-10-21T18:46:00.001-05:002012-10-21T18:50:30.904-05:00If You Can’t Find the Bird You Want …<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivav-ogxmmoDCCBy3jNKBxVbQi9_IyGjj7ciEMbWMerw6BWLR4Ao3yMufLkgjDKJz7rNpMm1SXwPUfq0lobDMuZqFj4ob8sMioRyO0MEnnqXUdGJQIuGpbOfj1sgJ49z1h3XWT/s1600/SAVS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivav-ogxmmoDCCBy3jNKBxVbQi9_IyGjj7ciEMbWMerw6BWLR4Ao3yMufLkgjDKJz7rNpMm1SXwPUfq0lobDMuZqFj4ob8sMioRyO0MEnnqXUdGJQIuGpbOfj1sgJ49z1h3XWT/s400/SAVS.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Savanah Sparrow</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Something
old: Me<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Something
New: Maybe<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Something
Borrowed: Four Tim O’Brien CDs from birding buddies Karin and Pat<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Something
Blue: My trusty Saturn<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Okay,
in the Something New spot above I had intended to write, LeConte’s Sparrow. Now
that I’ve given away the end of this story, if you want to see a picture of
LeConte’s Sparrow, open your dictionary to the word nemesis, I’m sure its
picture is there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGGvCgZL6rQk16TURGH4w3JDtbChGDDtsyAMYtkkJorH8Fmectqa6po4aA1pVPeFl-PtT3oJQrf69OUqFSTs6OSpXArh1v8ml1ObbOJXlcJdvQ2Wj_X4RcDC_ydxbYO_cLmbts/s1600/YRWA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGGvCgZL6rQk16TURGH4w3JDtbChGDDtsyAMYtkkJorH8Fmectqa6po4aA1pVPeFl-PtT3oJQrf69OUqFSTs6OSpXArh1v8ml1ObbOJXlcJdvQ2Wj_X4RcDC_ydxbYO_cLmbts/s400/YRWA.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Yellow-rumped Warbler</div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">I’ve
chased the bird before, even as far north as Winnepeg, Manitoba, once. The
little, skulky, orange-colored sparrow and I have yet to cross paths. I thought
today might be the day, however. The state bird hot line has been all abuzz
with daily reports this past week of a LeConte’s on the nearby Wake Robin Trail
in Mentor Marsh, less than an hour from home. It’s a rare bird in these parts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">I’ve
been otherwise busy with another project, however, Susan convinced me that I
needed some fresh air and what better way to get some much-needed exercise than
by chasing after a bird that rarely flies more than 12 inches above the ground;
or so it seems to me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbD00mmi1xj47zaVcKCCTRmwwdaa9nMNnrv7xTqLOWHldc_1SvybH76bFw4M9ZgnYAat0CcSY_Ip5bfVrJ2AWicL30OJq-D94nUBBaDALbBgkaG8jDUL_3i0rjS_p7derrHBtp/s1600/RCKI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbD00mmi1xj47zaVcKCCTRmwwdaa9nMNnrv7xTqLOWHldc_1SvybH76bFw4M9ZgnYAat0CcSY_Ip5bfVrJ2AWicL30OJq-D94nUBBaDALbBgkaG8jDUL_3i0rjS_p7derrHBtp/s400/RCKI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Ruby-crowned Kinglet</div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">I
arrived at the designated spot at the crack of nine this morning; birders were
in place as I expected they would be. The bird, however, was yet to be seen,
even by the fellow, Jerry Talkington, who has been tracking the bird for the
past few days. Not a good sign.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Jerry
and I walked the trail a bit and he told me, almost down to the blade of grass,
where the bird had been seen. Hmmmm. The best look I had was a flash of orange
about 50 yards away. Could have been LeConte’s or it could have been a Nelson’s
Sparrow, also seen in this spot during the past few days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic-SnpQnjgzhA20K1bJJTtjaORFCs3H6IXNPmhokQRKsgtMJtA55pIOCGbs6jlp03mQqhgP_Y0B4ieRX1KsVak9CfXLnza8eFly6fEHGYds3-vzKZkg3grApcTNsG4FTG1hBim/s1600/WCSP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic-SnpQnjgzhA20K1bJJTtjaORFCs3H6IXNPmhokQRKsgtMJtA55pIOCGbs6jlp03mQqhgP_Y0B4ieRX1KsVak9CfXLnza8eFly6fEHGYds3-vzKZkg3grApcTNsG4FTG1hBim/s400/WCSP.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
White-crowned Sparrow</div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">It
was a great day for birding so I’m not complaining. I logged 25 species for the day. To paraphrase John Lennon:
If you can’t find the bird you want, want the bird you find. I talked with a
few birders who had driven up from Cincinnati and Dayton who were not as
generous. But, if you’re going to get into this game, the first thing you have
to realize is that birds have wings and they don’t read the rare-bird alert
traffic on the Web.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Speaking
of new birders, I was pleased to see a good number of beginners among the more
experienced birders along the trail. One woman in particular impressed me with
her enthusiasm. She was carrying (I should say lugging) binoculars better used
for astronomy than birding. They had to be 20x60s and must have weighed 10
pounds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">She
said, “Are there any birds in this place other than sparrows?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Me:
“Sparrows are what it’s all about, today.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Her:
“We were hoping to see some eagles. Seen any eagles?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Oh
my.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">What's not to like about a White-throated Sparrow?</span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Clyde Witthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06963323844097867605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24502188.post-23799607187015107382012-10-18T17:25:00.000-05:002012-10-18T17:25:28.498-05:00Not As Seen On TV
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMC7h4_vVBZZv8H_JmNX3Hx3oqR3pkqJHPpYo32rNHz83vy3jFsadfBNvm7RzxA8LvFHv3S7SaFLsneH1loQ8n_IDksASf-gKGIzjYXtqL1JRTxfIyOo9H1V8-kD5wTHUiI-kf/s1600/Rally+1+Oct.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMC7h4_vVBZZv8H_JmNX3Hx3oqR3pkqJHPpYo32rNHz83vy3jFsadfBNvm7RzxA8LvFHv3S7SaFLsneH1loQ8n_IDksASf-gKGIzjYXtqL1JRTxfIyOo9H1V8-kD5wTHUiI-kf/s400/Rally+1+Oct.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Nothing like a rainbow sign to kick off the rally for President Obama.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">The
roar of the loudspeakers, the smell of the crowd. </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 150%;">Preaching
to the choir. Talking with myself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">It’s
been a while since I attended a political rally, so, when the opportunity to
see President Bill Clinton, Bubba, and Bruce Springsteen, the Boss—on the same stage—
popped up, it was too much to resist. (Full disclosure: It was at Susan’s
urging I attend, in spite of my issues with large crowds. Of course she was
right. And, while I’m at it, she suggested I carry my little pocket camera,
which saved the day. In spite of the fact that the ticket clearly stated
cameras were permitted, the security people still confiscated my regular camera
gear. But that’s another story.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">The
last political (make that, presidential) rally I attended was, hmmmm, 1956.
Adlai Stevenson and Estes Kefauver versus Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon.
I don’t remember a lot about that election, only that I really wanted one of
those raccoon skin caps that Kefauver, senator from Tennessee, wore. My
brother, Cliff, and I had been recruited by our grandparents, activists in the
Democratic party in Cleveland, to be part of a youth rally for Stevenson. Hey,
I was 14, it meant a day out of school, and there were probably girls there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Some
things change in 56 years, some don’t. Then, all I had to do was show up. Now,
I had to go get a ticket, which I scored easily enough yesterday, by filling
out reams of forms. Then, I remember wearing a snappy blue and white
hounds-tooth check suit with pegged pants, white shirt and tie. Now, it’s wear what
ya dare. And then there’s the electronics … <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5su77DhO_d0NYwK6Y2UW1ma2RMUqS3I12HsQfFqVWqyBJxBKnmd7MNAz7D-uKOfr6MnpoLdADXPq4gow6TwnPwV-DUQuSdDimHML9RTGYToTgBSuSuuRBZ8InlNJla3Jg-13p/s1600/Clinton+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5su77DhO_d0NYwK6Y2UW1ma2RMUqS3I12HsQfFqVWqyBJxBKnmd7MNAz7D-uKOfr6MnpoLdADXPq4gow6TwnPwV-DUQuSdDimHML9RTGYToTgBSuSuuRBZ8InlNJla3Jg-13p/s400/Clinton+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">"We can't go back. We can only move forward." President Clinton</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Signs
of hope: While unloading from the car (about a mile from the venue’s door) two
hours before the gates were to open, a rainbow formed over the building at
Cuyahoga Community College where the event was to be. It had been slated, so I
was told and thus, oversold, for the soccer field. Cleveland’s changeable
weather, however, changed for the worse. Another sign of hope was, what I saw
as several flocks of Peace doves landing on the campus lawn, some folks thought
were just pigeons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">I’m
not much good at crowd estimates, nor judging distance. A fellow on line next
to me, who seemed to be an expert on virtually every topic from artificial
insemination to xenophobia, said the crowd had reached at least 10,000 and the
line to get into the basketball gym was more than a mile long. Okay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">As
luck would have it, after a couple hours of standing around resisting the
vendors’ T-shirts, I got into the building, through security (except for the
camera hassle) and into the gym. Standing room only. In fact, there were no
seats for anyone. No movable furniture allowed. No one really cared, this was a
party. It was one of those moments when I wished I had been born tall instead
of good looking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Okay, the best shot I got of the Boss and Bubba</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">After
the obligatory speeches by local politicians, President Clinton stormed the
stage. The man should run for president, he’s that good. It was a solid,
fact-filled lecture by Professor Clinton. Each time he leaned on the lectern,
took off his glasses, pointed his finger and said, “Now listen, this is
important …” everyone in the room reached for their pens and notepads.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">President
Clinton made numerous references to the opponents’ promises, however, I think
the former president’s most important message, referring to Romney’s one-point
economic plan, was that we can’t go back. “We can’t even go back to an economy
that we had when I was president. You have to move forward.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Jettisoning
his suit coat, President Clinton introduced the Boss—Bruce Springsteen.
Springsteen’s opening comment brought down the house. “Having President Clinton
as your opening act is like trying to follow Elvis.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLXX9OyiAmN6xOT-NmRjlEMLQCiqGtKtmJmgdZIk-PxTHMSAr3QRVb7mjfzNHWu9t04WPxlXFhYZTjXtNKFUZXtTuFzcM4BuV2OAwsn1hGh10GxGS1moA76EOprJkCILrYJKD9/s1600/Boss+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLXX9OyiAmN6xOT-NmRjlEMLQCiqGtKtmJmgdZIk-PxTHMSAr3QRVb7mjfzNHWu9t04WPxlXFhYZTjXtNKFUZXtTuFzcM4BuV2OAwsn1hGh10GxGS1moA76EOprJkCILrYJKD9/s400/Boss+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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A nation is measured by its compassion for its weakest citizens.</div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">For
about an hour, Springsteen, in his workingman’s blue shirt, acoustic guitar and
harmonica, translated the lecture of President Clinton. He distilled the Democratic
message; that a nation can only be measured by its compassion for its weakest
citizens. His tools were words and songs we could all understand and sing along
with, among which was “This Land is Your Land,” a tribute to Woody Guthrie on
Woody’s 100<sup>th</sup> birthday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9C2DwVjWlQelk32d0bzANcOMs2kXqff34YlMrdjDKwDmo2XF7cy-g1RjZqmmr5oVLeEBxhEjXciP07UPe5IzVroIn2O6Jn-zL4yQX4XztuLuiAtCEAQiwj6AoaWFTXVTodBuo/s1600/Boss+2+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9C2DwVjWlQelk32d0bzANcOMs2kXqff34YlMrdjDKwDmo2XF7cy-g1RjZqmmr5oVLeEBxhEjXciP07UPe5IzVroIn2O6Jn-zL4yQX4XztuLuiAtCEAQiwj6AoaWFTXVTodBuo/s400/Boss+2+001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">We
cannot, Springsteen said, do as the Romney campaign is asking of us in the
middle class, to just melt away like scenery in some other man’s play.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">No,
this is America where we take care of our own. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">I’m
Clyde Witt and I approve OF this message.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Clyde Witthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06963323844097867605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24502188.post-24426081875764782692012-10-06T00:18:00.000-05:002012-10-06T00:18:01.188-05:00Foraging With Friends
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<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB8mhCd0tGa2TwPAhh1E6VDnsTKXjZBqYoiwhS-jKuYhEYLTCKEDpH1z-1pVq0V2YomnLLpMeYOFO_FLkDx1dD1pswOn03x7JHUGxmFYA59ez1zE5aOSL-Z13BJprXfBYrlE4I/s1600/WFIB+2+Sept+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB8mhCd0tGa2TwPAhh1E6VDnsTKXjZBqYoiwhS-jKuYhEYLTCKEDpH1z-1pVq0V2YomnLLpMeYOFO_FLkDx1dD1pswOn03x7JHUGxmFYA59ez1zE5aOSL-Z13BJprXfBYrlE4I/s400/WFIB+2+Sept+2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;"> </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 150%;">This
morning, with limited time for birding, Susan and I opted to return to a spot
we had seen only from afar; a small wetland spot right in the harbor at Santa
Barbara. We had seen some shorebirds there earlier in the week and thought it
might have something to offer.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">As
we walked around this small estuary we feared our instincts might have led us
astray. Not much happening. As we neared the end of our loop walk, a juvenile
White-faced Ibis dropped from the sky about 100 feet from us. This bird is not
unheard of in this local, but it is not very common either. In eight years of
birding California together, this was our first encounter with a White-faced
Ibis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZEYxcA2eSicRGx8VFg1XWVdAhzRUgotn_ZpjuWkY6iBYsJcNLS_WESq-xtls81nU8Z1IRQnL8imYOoBLa15mW9R400Gbye7efUBc-Wlp71n9kMTJYEPH177i-sBFRLOSi52xt/s1600/WFIB+3+Sept+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZEYxcA2eSicRGx8VFg1XWVdAhzRUgotn_ZpjuWkY6iBYsJcNLS_WESq-xtls81nU8Z1IRQnL8imYOoBLa15mW9R400Gbye7efUBc-Wlp71n9kMTJYEPH177i-sBFRLOSi52xt/s400/WFIB+3+Sept+2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 150%;">The
bird seemed a bit nervous, but hungry, as it worked its way around the edges of
a pool crowded with American Coots and a few Blue-winged Teal. It found a spot
that had something to its liking and held still long enough for us to move into
position for some good viewing. As it ate and churned up the bottom around its
feet, the coots worked their way over to get in on the free eats.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Without
warning (at least none we could detect) the ibis swung its massive bill and
whacked one of the coots on the butt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Moral
of the story: Birds of the feather don’t always forage together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVSeDNjeecluMIl-ImMRPUx5vYZ7-ZXV-wi-7E42TekPEjePMs67ZSWUXwpeolZiCrplCZWehov_1S-r6vyYjaPZQxPCTiMFgaCSi5W8jK9QQnD0Ab_TxflsaLUA-XjKyICK02/s1600/WFIB+1+Sept+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVSeDNjeecluMIl-ImMRPUx5vYZ7-ZXV-wi-7E42TekPEjePMs67ZSWUXwpeolZiCrplCZWehov_1S-r6vyYjaPZQxPCTiMFgaCSi5W8jK9QQnD0Ab_TxflsaLUA-XjKyICK02/s400/WFIB+1+Sept+2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Clyde Witthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06963323844097867605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24502188.post-47709019273947184822012-10-01T15:04:00.000-05:002012-10-01T15:04:44.372-05:00The Thrill of the Chase
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Common Cuckoo Watsonville Slough, Santa Cruz, California </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">It’s common knowledge in the birding
world, when a bird’s first name is “Common,” it’s likely not to be so. As luck
would have it, last week Susan and I happened to be spending some time in the
Monterey Bay area during our extended California Adventure. As a subscriber to
eBird’s critically important rare bird alert program, I could not believe our
good fortune when I read, September 28, of the spotting of truly rare bird.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">A Common Cuckoo (</span><span style="line-height: 150%;">Cuculus canorus, first year female)</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> was found at the Watsonville Slough, in
Santa Cruz, 25 miles from where we were. The bird is common in Europe and Asia,
however, in the U.S. it’s a different story; an uncommon tail to be sure. Our
plans for heading south toward Morro Bay made a quick 180—north to Santa Cruz,
much to the objections of the GPS lady.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Early Saturday morning we drove to the
spot where the bird was reported the day before. As any bird-chaser will tell
you, when you arrive at the spot and lots of other people are standing around,
hands in pockets, looking in all directions, it’s not a good sign. Susan jumped
from the car and chatted up the first person she came to. He turned out to be friendly
and knowledgeable. As he dashed for his car, he said the bird had just been spotted
“across the bridge.” He recognized the blank looks we gave him and said,
“follow me.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Music to our ears. Susan spun the rental
car around so fast the GPS lady was shouting, “What? What? I’m just askin’
here!”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">About a half mile away we joined more than
100 other birders, a flowing stream of humanity, like lemmings (to mix a
metaphor) toward a weedy edge of a not-so-friendly looking estuary. Fog
shrouded the area. In hushed tones (birders often do this when a rarity is
around), the question and answer game began: “Seen it? Anybody have it? Where
is it?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Waiting and watching. Part of the thrill of the chase.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After 15 minutes or so, the star arrived.
Full disclosure here: I missed the entrance, Susan did not. The bird popped up
and down so quickly, I was still trying to sort out which brown tree with the
green leaves, etc.; following the directions of a dozen people and getting so
frustrated I almost peed my pants. The bird was gone before I was even facing
the right direction.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While gnashing my teeth, way overheated, I
unwound myself from my camera straps, binoculars, backpack, et al, and dropped
it all on the ground to get out of my sweater. On queue, the bird popped up
again. Susan had worked her way to the front of the crowd and was one of the
first to see it and, I think, the first to get a scope on the bird, much to the
delight of many people around her. The chatter of camera motor drives drowned
out directions people were giving, however, this time I got great looks.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This would prove to be the first
California record for the species and, according to one knowledgeable birder
standing next to me, possibly only the second sighting in the U.S., the first
being some years ago in Massachusetts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She (the Common Cuckoo) decided to
cooperate and give us adoring fans a treat. She perched in a relatively open
spot (albeit 150 feet away) and posed for about 10 minutes, then flew off to
the sound of hundreds of people all releasing their breath at the same time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">What a bird. Okay, not glamorous by some
standards, but hey, beauty is only feather deep—and those feathers will change
soon enough. In classic birder tradition, when the bird pooped the crowd said,
“Aaaaaa.” And with that, </span><span style="line-height: 150%;">Cuculus canorus</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> took off to the
left, heading for a spot with a bit more privacy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">High fives all ‘round. One of the local
birders had a shopping bag full of bagels he distributed, the sun made a cameo
appearance. Life is good.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Common Cuckoo takes wing</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Clyde Witthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06963323844097867605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24502188.post-17671278160161609942012-09-22T12:57:00.001-05:002012-09-22T12:57:42.617-05:00Get Your Party Pants On
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<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPQHjgrMrjtIwoO7TATxe_Nn2IDy400r-tzr40rPy1tO_iGJNjxhScm2JV0sQoNCuSTeo-C7wiqHRU_TK2l7tLcvzgr7b3Q7a3S2eQXCtnWw6m4g0Md7AGhu9TMLh2X277Y882/s1600/Astronomy.3+21+Sept+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPQHjgrMrjtIwoO7TATxe_Nn2IDy400r-tzr40rPy1tO_iGJNjxhScm2JV0sQoNCuSTeo-C7wiqHRU_TK2l7tLcvzgr7b3Q7a3S2eQXCtnWw6m4g0Md7AGhu9TMLh2X277Y882/s400/Astronomy.3+21+Sept+2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
It doesn't have to be full to be fulfilling</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">I know, you’re about partied out with all
the celebrations surrounding the first day of autumn, kids going back to school
and the opening of the professional football season, however, here’s a biggy
you won’t want to miss. (Besides, it’s Saturday and you can sleep in tomorrow.)
In case you missed earlier announcements, this is International Observe the
Moon Night.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Right, an official night to do what humans
(and other creatures) have been doing since before before.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Susan and I got a jump on the festivities
last night by attending a pre-event party at Westmont College in nearby
Montecito (still in California). The school opens its doors the third Friday of
each month, giving us civilians an opportunity to see the world beyond anything
we might imagine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiimob9Ujq_RkiJbRD-ghHOtSV8mZt6G6pgb39kI3jq4ARneITfub2pS6Bibtm5QwTKn4Ub1qg2ZdI-UvwOCZbGwO2GBIDfR-4ItggqsYutdudBQ0aB1NC1yyjVy8DZt8tQwua5/s1600/Astronomy.2+21+Sept+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiimob9Ujq_RkiJbRD-ghHOtSV8mZt6G6pgb39kI3jq4ARneITfub2pS6Bibtm5QwTKn4Ub1qg2ZdI-UvwOCZbGwO2GBIDfR-4ItggqsYutdudBQ0aB1NC1yyjVy8DZt8tQwua5/s400/Astronomy.2+21+Sept+2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Susan gets her turn to view beyond belief</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The keyhole through which we would peek was
a </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">24-inch reflector telescope in the
Westmont Observatory.</span><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">The relatively new
high-tech telescope is one of the more powerful on California's Central Coast.</span><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">(For you tech-type readers, its an F/8 Cassegrain
instrument with Ritchey-Chretien optics.)</span><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #535353; font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">The
Westmont College Observatory’s five-year-old 24-inch Keck Telescope, is already
credited with confirming the existence of one supernova and is used by students
to research meteorite trajectories, variable stars, and other celestial phenomena.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #535353; font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG58poZqv78XxpNvi11O3CGwE5hD4xwE5K9mcl8KtXxStoKOCGd1XFeqncJDfiMOJdd6GP5xtZ4M1w2QpLt6DM7kgkDjZ4TW4lQCTrfPbGvKU-Q570TEojJ38AvuCBjVpwtdxM/s1600/Astronomy.1+21+Sept+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG58poZqv78XxpNvi11O3CGwE5hD4xwE5K9mcl8KtXxStoKOCGd1XFeqncJDfiMOJdd6GP5xtZ4M1w2QpLt6DM7kgkDjZ4TW4lQCTrfPbGvKU-Q570TEojJ38AvuCBjVpwtdxM/s400/Astronomy.1+21+Sept+2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Students and other astronomer provided information</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="color: #535353; font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="color: #535353; font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">A
half-dozen members of the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit set up personal
telescopes in the plaza surrounding the Keck scope, offering stargazers the
chance to see various phenomena, including observations of the moon so close
you could almost see footprints.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="color: #535353; font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">We
spent several hours circulating from scope to scope, listening to astronomers talk
in a language we could barely comprehend. And though we couldn’t speak their
language, we were able to appreciate the mystery of places such as the Great
Globular Cluster in Hercules (Messier 13, or NGC 6205) with its 300,000 stars,
and the blue-green tinge of the Ring Nebula (M57, or NGC 6720) 2,300
light-years from Earth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="color: #535353; font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">What
concerns me is a conversation I had with one of the astronomers. He feels that
there is a very real chance </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">the <a href="http://www.ask.com/wiki/Andromeda_Galaxy?qsrc=3044"><span style="color: #002aa7; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Andromeda Galaxy</span></a>
(still 2.5 Million light-years away), which contains about <a href="http://www.ask.com/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_(numbers)?qsrc=3044#1012"><span style="color: #002aa7; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">one trillion</span></a>
<a href="http://www.ask.com/wiki/Stars?qsrc=3044"><span style="color: #002aa7; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">stars</span></a>, and the <a href="http://www.ask.com/wiki/Milky_Way?qsrc=3044"><span style="color: #002aa7; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Milky Way</span></a> (home base for
planet Earth), which contains about three hundred <a href="http://www.ask.com/wiki/1000000000_(number)?qsrc=3044"><span style="color: #002aa7; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">billion</span></a>
stars</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">, will collide in about four billion
years. Shouldn’t we be doing something to prepare for this? I’m just sayin’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Clyde Witthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06963323844097867605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24502188.post-35960234991149813752012-09-21T17:29:00.000-05:002012-09-21T17:29:17.722-05:00Bird of a Different Feather
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitYi4_HR8fsMfyBO-Tt5n-jshHaOWChVaSJ9YjnYGS_tHjf6qz6NtQC75NoQoQ2Un8q_wJ91DMd3xtbFtOu_U3P2Ta4jS8hr7VF9RBPkJUywZPcsvznzUmF17z5LOM1OyKfNtv/s1600/Shuttle.4+21+Sept+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitYi4_HR8fsMfyBO-Tt5n-jshHaOWChVaSJ9YjnYGS_tHjf6qz6NtQC75NoQoQ2Un8q_wJ91DMd3xtbFtOu_U3P2Ta4jS8hr7VF9RBPkJUywZPcsvznzUmF17z5LOM1OyKfNtv/s400/Shuttle.4+21+Sept+2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Someplace
I read the definition of good luck is the point at which preparation intersects
opportunity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Southern
California has been all abuzz this past week with talk of the space shuttle
Endeavour coming to town as a permanent display at the California Science
Center. This morning the LA Times had a list of spots where you might be able
to see the shuttle as it piggybacked in on its 747 carrier.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 150%;">Susan
and I had a passing interest, however, standing around with crowds to see
something fly by at several hundred miles per hour did not seem like a good use
of our morning. Besides, we were determined to find, or refind I should say, a
little brown bird that has eluded us twice since our initial sighting at Los
Carneros Lake a couple weeks ago.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Nearing
11:30, our stomachs gnawing on our backbones, we decided that the elusive,
nameless, bird was going to remain just that. We’re running out of time to bag
that bugger. We’ve about given up hope of finding it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Susan
wisely suggested having lunch on the beach at nearby Goleta, a good birding
spot as well. While Susan ordered up the chow, I noticed a bunch of
photographers down at the beach and even more lined up along the rails of the
pier. It took a minute to register—the space shuttle had to fly right by on its
way from San Francisco to Los Angeles. While Susan was paying for the eats, I
spotted the silver bird off to the north. What I expected to be a flash-by
turned into a slow drive-by. One of the fellows near me said it was flying at
between 250-275 miles per hour. It seemed slower.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-YtMtGn25GMO_7kYwoXP2ztUIOOZD2bqZjosdIsaKJ3sLcXvjVTQSu6x8Z0YL_K5iZonaYSuJcs-afqnTe_Nk_gF6Fef-96pQ8gJ88faXF7KNyxqL4vZe_jvwWVRdX-QkD7Vp/s1600/Shuttle.2+21+Sept+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-YtMtGn25GMO_7kYwoXP2ztUIOOZD2bqZjosdIsaKJ3sLcXvjVTQSu6x8Z0YL_K5iZonaYSuJcs-afqnTe_Nk_gF6Fef-96pQ8gJ88faXF7KNyxqL4vZe_jvwWVRdX-QkD7Vp/s400/Shuttle.2+21+Sept+2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Escorted
by two fighter jets, the Boeing 747 and its cargo drifted south, high above the
Brown Pelicans and gulls. In true American style, a woman standing behind me
said, “Let’s hurry home so we can watch it on TV.” Reality TV might be the ruin
of us all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Clyde Witthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06963323844097867605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24502188.post-19120356081636076682012-09-16T16:48:00.000-05:002012-09-16T16:48:01.442-05:00No Cookie Cutters Allowed<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWkxoKAq86nNs3lederb9eYiwtr7uBb0hC7IrzOgKnLUoMxkP2DS4JUuvvbcl7zsjBXEvJ9OZnzNf4Scv5a-M2KkaQFyl6snWcTZLR0t29eBsSxWU23vFIzBgVIj_7f4WNdvES/s1600/Car+Show+Sept+2012+11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWkxoKAq86nNs3lederb9eYiwtr7uBb0hC7IrzOgKnLUoMxkP2DS4JUuvvbcl7zsjBXEvJ9OZnzNf4Scv5a-M2KkaQFyl6snWcTZLR0t29eBsSxWU23vFIzBgVIj_7f4WNdvES/s400/Car+Show+Sept+2012+11.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: center;">California dreamin’.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">I
spent the morning with nephew-in-law Scott, our feet hovering about six inches
above the pavement in Montecito, California. But first, a brief lesson in
comparative literature. Many American fairytales begin: Once upon a time …
While many Russian fairytales begin: Someday there will be a time … Today was a
bit of both.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">We
took a step or two back in time, to when cars had wings on which a young man’s
dreams could soar. It was billed as Cars and Coffee, a benefit for the Special
Olympics. More than 100 cars, familiar brands and some you’ve never heard of
(When was the last time you passed at 1947 Delahaye on the highway?)
transformed the quiet landscape of Montecito and the Costal Village Road into a
parking lot of dreams.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">It
was a view of what the world was and what it might be like if money was not an
object. Conversations around us, indeed, even our own, began with sentences
such as, “If only …” or, “My buddy once had …” or, “Don’t ya just hate it when
a car you drove in high school turns up at an antique car show?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">I
came away from the show with one overall impression: craftsmanship. Way back in
J-school I was admonished never to use the word, unique. Well, I know, they’re
gas-guzzling beasts and probably unsafe in the hands of normal people, however,
they are as individual as the people that drive (or drove) them. Unique. No
focus groups were used to design these babies, just the temperament of the
person whose name is on the badge: Porsche, Ferrari, and Ford. Someplace along
the way designers all started to use the same wind-tunnel data and focus-group
gurus and we’ve ended up with a bunch of cars that look like potatoes with
wheels.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Oh
well, for a few hours it was worth the trip back in time. If only I had held on
to my Porsche 914 … <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Dream
along with me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5bGhW3RkuYlpAflUdQzUw6W7AfMdjS0o81JOaQcz2YW-c5lvG89Bz4NGs4CxE_CcCFqNh2V9fngfprSn2ev-l77zsJDbkTehl5IUjsnfnnloADMeTxluC-Fl1CJAnlQvwvye0/s1600/Car+Show+Sept+2012+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5bGhW3RkuYlpAflUdQzUw6W7AfMdjS0o81JOaQcz2YW-c5lvG89Bz4NGs4CxE_CcCFqNh2V9fngfprSn2ev-l77zsJDbkTehl5IUjsnfnnloADMeTxluC-Fl1CJAnlQvwvye0/s400/Car+Show+Sept+2012+7.jpg" width="265" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKEJuWIxUpqibe0kjvNiCRcCSK2VrxjUDdU96Kch8YOoRR_rtF2Yeyd-Vce-OW1NXthOPNuBttL8ge17s4szqUwzXKMBRqhOxGzCKtF79ZXByqMxYxat-tQk3OqVlmPJDOqflP/s1600/Car+Show+Sept+2012+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKEJuWIxUpqibe0kjvNiCRcCSK2VrxjUDdU96Kch8YOoRR_rtF2Yeyd-Vce-OW1NXthOPNuBttL8ge17s4szqUwzXKMBRqhOxGzCKtF79ZXByqMxYxat-tQk3OqVlmPJDOqflP/s400/Car+Show+Sept+2012+5.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 150%;">1955 Chevrolet Corvette, coming and going.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3iZtqWGVMMvDwGAmwxaVrqGdrSzOvo_BahYfEF8khvJdGH9sUATdnO74-pz8YkJ0djG-ZlLOUGhRah9-sjty8BwgbiJZPqYE5S__wkTXrRnE1ZZZv0OR900oJwKQtnE9RF_X5/s1600/Car+Show+Sept+2012+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3iZtqWGVMMvDwGAmwxaVrqGdrSzOvo_BahYfEF8khvJdGH9sUATdnO74-pz8YkJ0djG-ZlLOUGhRah9-sjty8BwgbiJZPqYE5S__wkTXrRnE1ZZZv0OR900oJwKQtnE9RF_X5/s400/Car+Show+Sept+2012+6.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdOVYM6uWfSFu5KqjErqhLaB3cbPfHdYUniUge85UaV5o1Xc4XyGnS7fxVmTbtdTHbczHGGUNNNZT2a0RBYvgxXgw54RwDTtSbYVzbioDsBubO8GjD6we5L4kk0ai-sFICFQAF/s1600/Car+Show+Sept+2012+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdOVYM6uWfSFu5KqjErqhLaB3cbPfHdYUniUge85UaV5o1Xc4XyGnS7fxVmTbtdTHbczHGGUNNNZT2a0RBYvgxXgw54RwDTtSbYVzbioDsBubO8GjD6we5L4kk0ai-sFICFQAF/s320/Car+Show+Sept+2012+8.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">When gas cost 31 cents per gallon.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjO68nRuATafic8UbnFUo4IXgSs1IpBQCsCp8VCic2V6jZMgRqexqFTzzXVpCqGkciPwATPw2yA1EtH80jr1hmh4OzSobbZmhMJIDhy1x3lc91HKqEM-fZDKsjgC9L5elJCmt9/s1600/Car+Show+Sept+2012+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjO68nRuATafic8UbnFUo4IXgSs1IpBQCsCp8VCic2V6jZMgRqexqFTzzXVpCqGkciPwATPw2yA1EtH80jr1hmh4OzSobbZmhMJIDhy1x3lc91HKqEM-fZDKsjgC9L5elJCmt9/s400/Car+Show+Sept+2012+4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Early form of car alarm. No batteries required.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXKG6saIVD2tKOfLfo1a5iMZsDe81xaQZEgNETLs6u0XaY78yNPcXPZAJ7k-t5ywe6E-PwNVVlJ7p412WCoq5vak-gdjpc4KbxmMckZdo5e1kMZ0zTQNMtePVDhxinvmpLRnlv/s1600/Car+Show+Sept+2012+20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXKG6saIVD2tKOfLfo1a5iMZsDe81xaQZEgNETLs6u0XaY78yNPcXPZAJ7k-t5ywe6E-PwNVVlJ7p412WCoq5vak-gdjpc4KbxmMckZdo5e1kMZ0zTQNMtePVDhxinvmpLRnlv/s400/Car+Show+Sept+2012+20.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Lil' Duce Coup--so California.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvFymlNrkf9IYcufNZ-9sRGHIMIdwDS7zGzv2gNhD7ZLicLp-ScUf-gnoYEnprU7BptsLu7QTdwuZ_2l45Ttdix8LoouzMOiPWEfAw20QBUguj_1fi2Re-ZU5ANk6bL3JKi5wy/s1600/Car+Show+Sept+2012+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvFymlNrkf9IYcufNZ-9sRGHIMIdwDS7zGzv2gNhD7ZLicLp-ScUf-gnoYEnprU7BptsLu7QTdwuZ_2l45Ttdix8LoouzMOiPWEfAw20QBUguj_1fi2Re-ZU5ANk6bL3JKi5wy/s400/Car+Show+Sept+2012+2.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">When cars had wings--and tails. 1959 Coupe da Ville.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHHroLtOoMQ-ulMGLEoTphbcg-zG3WNlwQEw5n43lVETjcUch0rWA7QETUiZLS4dUS3dDkfhrzSWeDtwb-OvEHv6aLheALw4E1-fmC4Ih-h3r-PeSL9SEaYNXqWnodl7MkWX7Z/s1600/Car+Show+Sept+2012+17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHHroLtOoMQ-ulMGLEoTphbcg-zG3WNlwQEw5n43lVETjcUch0rWA7QETUiZLS4dUS3dDkfhrzSWeDtwb-OvEHv6aLheALw4E1-fmC4Ih-h3r-PeSL9SEaYNXqWnodl7MkWX7Z/s400/Car+Show+Sept+2012+17.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDizii89JLKRwHZnBgFFAFDK8vIxXyAeYTabavvPX6QB1NRAnHi-yDIWJ5TwxilGFPB3Xu-H0tkbbVlGGmzOK_4LAW3d2Kn80YYKG1QHxzcvXeEiAQ-Cl08b5vnE4K4Fu0V3mB/s1600/Car+Show+Sept+2012+18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDizii89JLKRwHZnBgFFAFDK8vIxXyAeYTabavvPX6QB1NRAnHi-yDIWJ5TwxilGFPB3Xu-H0tkbbVlGGmzOK_4LAW3d2Kn80YYKG1QHxzcvXeEiAQ-Cl08b5vnE4K4Fu0V3mB/s320/Car+Show+Sept+2012+18.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Craftsmanship of a '48 Chrysler Woodie</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrIo6xWEHsROowAwdwiLKUC0IkIQyh2iajN9WBHUPcaDhOEB_c-7d_vXnKAXVjKBObSF9LX-MTiwbuCMqHrBi0bMnt3nWNPxZBGTHFLpURJWQHqXom6B6QAkjp7a8tufvRPTOf/s1600/Car+Show+Sept+2012+19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrIo6xWEHsROowAwdwiLKUC0IkIQyh2iajN9WBHUPcaDhOEB_c-7d_vXnKAXVjKBObSF9LX-MTiwbuCMqHrBi0bMnt3nWNPxZBGTHFLpURJWQHqXom6B6QAkjp7a8tufvRPTOf/s400/Car+Show+Sept+2012+19.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">1958 Porsche Speedster and 1962 Porsche 356. Don't drool on the paint, please.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0SldsxkI8c4N4M_oyIkp2VLzMYXz3sD7X-6-YxVkII-zegTGJS0DYY5tja35WYfM5BkfK2CayD8dkorfQDgxbSYR5g-bjWsgnFeZBqLfu9B7llTHiPZgT3kAY38R1CjoLTE6w/s1600/Car+Show+Sept+2012+14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0SldsxkI8c4N4M_oyIkp2VLzMYXz3sD7X-6-YxVkII-zegTGJS0DYY5tja35WYfM5BkfK2CayD8dkorfQDgxbSYR5g-bjWsgnFeZBqLfu9B7llTHiPZgT3kAY38R1CjoLTE6w/s400/Car+Show+Sept+2012+14.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Pierce-Arrow knew how to make radiator caps.</div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2qrClymdmlEJaD3qyaYcK8av2FGKw76RWTOISIzQ7K56zZ-4B8_ry_noknpgebntqPj47k5IibEtk118x-GEvRqE-MAB8lgy36qvjQDxWDU6nqMQOByykgtL2oBfjTYMbsclv/s1600/Car+Show+Sept+2012+16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2qrClymdmlEJaD3qyaYcK8av2FGKw76RWTOISIzQ7K56zZ-4B8_ry_noknpgebntqPj47k5IibEtk118x-GEvRqE-MAB8lgy36qvjQDxWDU6nqMQOByykgtL2oBfjTYMbsclv/s400/Car+Show+Sept+2012+16.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
2004 Porsche Carrera GT. A steal at $300,000.</div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikeXp76yPMfw6xq183veEjEDmDRUq6Y1aKqbCxyYUiROe3Cl7fmgIo19VlDwhIfhQDOo5W6IL5c9IuPD1OxOAmQmpuI3681NBHussduRlzVgLlHBlzxZU8bDM6D_NpcK5p3Ppa/s1600/Car+Show+Sept+2012+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikeXp76yPMfw6xq183veEjEDmDRUq6Y1aKqbCxyYUiROe3Cl7fmgIo19VlDwhIfhQDOo5W6IL5c9IuPD1OxOAmQmpuI3681NBHussduRlzVgLlHBlzxZU8bDM6D_NpcK5p3Ppa/s400/Car+Show+Sept+2012+9.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;">It doesn't get any more Californian than a '56 Chevy Nomad with wood sufrboard hanging out the back.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Clyde Witthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06963323844097867605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24502188.post-85730209704228447992012-09-10T18:48:00.000-05:002012-09-10T18:48:06.724-05:00Photo Op
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifCsMz5c6jycmjNCIsGveTLKr-A8_FTcUG5L-j1j-dXnIVZjQrA66wN-WL7c9xv_tYk7UBUKwLOmTJLLlxjApgx7lUQQfvt3qKywg-2KGJ441McNqASL4LbPTUDpUQ0Gk1U7xw/s1600/Hummingbird+Trio+10+Sept+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifCsMz5c6jycmjNCIsGveTLKr-A8_FTcUG5L-j1j-dXnIVZjQrA66wN-WL7c9xv_tYk7UBUKwLOmTJLLlxjApgx7lUQQfvt3qKywg-2KGJ441McNqASL4LbPTUDpUQ0Gk1U7xw/s320/Hummingbird+Trio+10+Sept+2012.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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Anna's, Rufous and an immature Anna's Hummingbirds</div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;"> </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 150%;">The
area around Santa Barbara, California, is rich in history—as well as 475
species of birds. I was doing a bit of reading about the original people to
settle here, the Chumash Indians. In their native tongue, the words Santa
Barbara mean, Photo Op. Honest. I ain’t lying.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Not
only is life out here good; it’s simple: Eat, sleep, bird. What’s not to like?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">This
morning Susan and I went to one of our favorite spots, Ellwood Mesa, in Goleta,
where we usually get to see grassland species. On our way up to the mesa, a
house that borders the trail had several hummingbird feeders hanging from its
eves. As we were peering through the back gate, the home owners came along and
invited us in. Gilbert was a gracious host, telling us all about his feeder
array as we sorted out the various species. He had the usual
ya-shoulda-been-here-last-week story about a Black-chinned Hummingbird that put
in an appearance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">As
a photographer I thought I’d died and gone to heaven, not the anticipated
direction, when I watched the light shift a bit and the glass doors behind the
feeders went black. You can’t get that in nature. I slobbered so much on my
Nikon I was afraid I’d have to take it in to the shop for cleaning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva;">Anyway,
It was a morning filled with birds we’d like to share with you. Enjoy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkZfa9hpT1V8VQ1RXfKnstkscimerX-dqPOnT-5SZr099GsotCu9rFVrObIZX1yHsywHeubYzyHhyphenhypheniZDYP9scZ6VIVC-jdzhCkbi-L4l5Ts6_6ocqpzUBwobygFWkjRQyhURg_/s1600/Merlin+10+Sept+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkZfa9hpT1V8VQ1RXfKnstkscimerX-dqPOnT-5SZr099GsotCu9rFVrObIZX1yHsywHeubYzyHhyphenhypheniZDYP9scZ6VIVC-jdzhCkbi-L4l5Ts6_6ocqpzUBwobygFWkjRQyhURg_/s400/Merlin+10+Sept+2012.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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An uncommon Pacific (Black) Merlin</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRPkwYUdvQPlxxFjMYz_smP9gYLxAcnFLb6cz3_HPtaDqljC-bqzGx5-uHn1kKIisblB-A2PStNCkr_Xq7lCfOXGiTcMcX3UIzLIhiO24kyS04ETDEFJd54wlPhphQtdFPJ7SD/s1600/BSKI+10+Sept+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRPkwYUdvQPlxxFjMYz_smP9gYLxAcnFLb6cz3_HPtaDqljC-bqzGx5-uHn1kKIisblB-A2PStNCkr_Xq7lCfOXGiTcMcX3UIzLIhiO24kyS04ETDEFJd54wlPhphQtdFPJ7SD/s400/BSKI+10+Sept+2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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A mouse-eye view of a White-tailed Kite, AKA Black-shouldered Kite</div>
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Aren't those Brown Pelicans getting a bit close?</div>
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2X6w0or16khkPggpYS3z4xeclbbvLAAFDCGhwGWSM035lgLegM788SwWWF3X32W9-JmbOaQwc2hb4YACMDIijTAolZKeaiXwJaVkaKSrYMPYK4ICzdp_A21FGJzAvpHkZBZD9/s1600/Multi+Hummers+10+Sept+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2X6w0or16khkPggpYS3z4xeclbbvLAAFDCGhwGWSM035lgLegM788SwWWF3X32W9-JmbOaQwc2hb4YACMDIijTAolZKeaiXwJaVkaKSrYMPYK4ICzdp_A21FGJzAvpHkZBZD9/s400/Multi+Hummers+10+Sept+2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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An unseen traffic controller at the feeders helps.<br /></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Clyde Witthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06963323844097867605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24502188.post-40196705411033515502012-08-31T23:54:00.000-05:002012-08-31T23:54:23.980-05:00Going to Bed With Red
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpxLwVI5wyoyDyoDECXVxughs5UQGEhJKM20Umtu8zYArHQLUAmriCrvAyAH4_D75ouyCU_LiPfr5TLQL1MC03UtrYtZfI5WBTYFzQbKYsAi1oPcXVaJUtxgzt8EUPeKwmvb4g/s1600/Blue+Moon+31+Aug+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpxLwVI5wyoyDyoDECXVxughs5UQGEhJKM20Umtu8zYArHQLUAmriCrvAyAH4_D75ouyCU_LiPfr5TLQL1MC03UtrYtZfI5WBTYFzQbKYsAi1oPcXVaJUtxgzt8EUPeKwmvb4g/s400/Blue+Moon+31+Aug+2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It’s called a blue moon ‘cause it’s the second
full moon in the same calendar month. It’s not however, a blue moon by the older
definition, which was the fourth full moon in the same calendar quarter, or
three-month season. That would make it more of a challenge—something that might
happen only once in a blue moon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-right: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">And this second moon of August is called the Full
Red Moon, so that should clear things up a bit. Oh my.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-right: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Trolling through the moon info that’s available
these days, the best, and most logical reason for calling it the Full Red Moon
is that in the last days of summer, haze, especially from forest and prairie
fires, made the moon appear to red to many native Americans in the East.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-right: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It was also called the Full Corn Moon, Green Corn
Moon and the Grain Moon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Moon shadows. Moon beams. Moon struck.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Tonight’s picture was taken after you readers in
the east had turned in for the day. Where Susan and I are currently chasing
birds, on the left coast of America, the party was just getting started.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioFg4BiWwAygs_D9jiaDFuIUpNSMKpkBg1YVo2AOd6zT2TwzNwrS4qSDjXJdIyK1AXF-jbI-v8gSss6BEo7prckzgwWz6O9SuM5Kwd7bTjHZogS29qZKTrnnia7mNS91VMbrVM/s1600/Red+Moon+31+Aug+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioFg4BiWwAygs_D9jiaDFuIUpNSMKpkBg1YVo2AOd6zT2TwzNwrS4qSDjXJdIyK1AXF-jbI-v8gSss6BEo7prckzgwWz6O9SuM5Kwd7bTjHZogS29qZKTrnnia7mNS91VMbrVM/s400/Red+Moon+31+Aug+2012.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">[Full disclosure: I created this blue moon using
a digital process that renders things in the old fashioned cyanotype image.
California smog helped with the redish version.]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Clyde Witthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06963323844097867605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24502188.post-47771980339568028012012-08-21T20:11:00.001-05:002012-08-21T20:11:39.320-05:00Growing Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLnPX42SI1en4Yq5f97K8yXTJ53VPNYKMcWjj94GvBLcLVcQVEyRlrlgt1AutkInRIYK7F1k2CN7k4SjNsZ-7HH9o5P8z2iDj3eGq0ic7-nxVZ2TOHYn8d93_dAyr4fbEDaaqz/s1600/Bear+Crk+Aug+2012+MI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLnPX42SI1en4Yq5f97K8yXTJ53VPNYKMcWjj94GvBLcLVcQVEyRlrlgt1AutkInRIYK7F1k2CN7k4SjNsZ-7HH9o5P8z2iDj3eGq0ic7-nxVZ2TOHYn8d93_dAyr4fbEDaaqz/s400/Bear+Crk+Aug+2012+MI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Bear Creek, where Papa Hemingway fished about 100 years ago.</div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
Fishing
the contemplative waters of the Little Manistee River in West Michigan this
past week, I thought about my dad<span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">—</span>as I often do while fishing.
It was he who sentenced me to this life-long pursuit, starting with a cane pole
and bluegills when FDR was president. Now, the activity has evolved to
high-tech fly fishing tackle and what might seem to others a near-impossible
way to catch fish.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
Long
after dad was dead, I discovered he'd been a fly fisher. He gave up this more
complex way of catching fish in favor of teaching me and my three brothers how
to bait a hook with a red worm.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
So, as I
shivered in the challenging Little Manistee trout stream last week, I thought
about how much has remained the same in this spot over the past 100 years and
what a different world it is from when dad probably fished here.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhvWubvd3oeZF1ZRH8t7Jb1KImBQYvH5AWfjQ7eWJ4Wr_CuO5kI6DXrPjXZrbvOOZ4ctllvzpRVCcAkGCUgfucYw31YfRUdNLCX51iG-I9GVT_KvBFwdapzGKtyzPi38rWtiYi/s1600/Little+Manistee+Aug+2012+MI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhvWubvd3oeZF1ZRH8t7Jb1KImBQYvH5AWfjQ7eWJ4Wr_CuO5kI6DXrPjXZrbvOOZ4ctllvzpRVCcAkGCUgfucYw31YfRUdNLCX51iG-I9GVT_KvBFwdapzGKtyzPi38rWtiYi/s400/Little+Manistee+Aug+2012+MI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The gorgeous, challenging Lilltle Manistee River in Michigan</div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
I think
he might have gotten excited about things like the Mars rovers; even
appreciated the Internet. (Though he probably would have thought both a waste
of money--like power windows in a car.)</div>
<div class="Body1">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
One thing
I'm sure he would never have abided was tournament fishing. To dad, the concept
of chasing about in glittery speed boats in pursuit of bass or trout would have
been as inconceivable as voting for a Republican.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
For dad,
fishing was a quiet, contemplative diversion; something to savor if only for
two weeks out of a year otherwise filled with two or three full-time jobs
necessary to feed his family. Our annual vacation/fishing trips always marked a
significant period in dad's year, not one fixed on the calendar like Christmas,
but a point more filled with meaning; marking the beginning of our summer
exile; a time to recall past exiles--for better or worse.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
As a kid,
fishing for me was a numbers game. As an adult my thinking has evolved to the
point where I'm not sure catching is all that crucial--which was what
dad probably thought.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWTjDJ_XwnPQbV7KxS-c_4_I9lr00E94MGNpGQaHLFzgZZlVOpIbrvRVmhAoQd7Rl7EE3P-fEO1ghyphenhyphenzeQUtLq3qwY-uS5TePjUZSkvxzPN2bZbx5TSM2jMgLbktCsOxF-dv7mw/s1600/Little+Brookie+Aug+2012+MI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWTjDJ_XwnPQbV7KxS-c_4_I9lr00E94MGNpGQaHLFzgZZlVOpIbrvRVmhAoQd7Rl7EE3P-fEO1ghyphenhyphenzeQUtLq3qwY-uS5TePjUZSkvxzPN2bZbx5TSM2jMgLbktCsOxF-dv7mw/s400/Little+Brookie+Aug+2012+MI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Grow up little guy. I'll be back looking for you in a couple years.</div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
Clyde Witthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06963323844097867605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24502188.post-71553036122856255342012-08-03T12:27:00.000-05:002012-08-04T17:20:18.171-05:00Labor for Elephants<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6CxX4RrsrdRm-EKl8StCOKqmSSs5IXy2VMwiAy7c5i1ZlAZuYk2RGhtyHkIfyQ7ebHuX2mLU_h-Az7ImNEl2GhigAzvldNZmxEP_j1msr_K9vF9u5-642OzIXjvBA4VtDYz4q/s1600/Elephant+3Aug2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6CxX4RrsrdRm-EKl8StCOKqmSSs5IXy2VMwiAy7c5i1ZlAZuYk2RGhtyHkIfyQ7ebHuX2mLU_h-Az7ImNEl2GhigAzvldNZmxEP_j1msr_K9vF9u5-642OzIXjvBA4VtDYz4q/s320/Elephant+3Aug2012.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Geneva;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="letter-spacing: 1px;">Lisa at work</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Geneva; letter-spacing: 1.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝";">The traveling
circus passed through our village this morning. I considered running away, then
remembered a few other obligations. And besides, how would the government know
where to send my Social Security check?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Geneva; letter-spacing: 1.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝";">So instead,
we took our 10-year-old grandson to watch the circus folks raise the big top. I
think he might have preferred something a bit more digital than archaic,
however, any chance you get to see a piece of living history, I say, "Take
it! Go for the gold!" (Oh, too much television in my system …)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Geneva; letter-spacing: 1.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝";">Anyway,
watching the elephant (Lisa, by name) in harness, pulling on the rigging that
raised the roof 39 feet above us, I had one of those what-if moments. Lisa is a
well conditioned 37 year old, tipping the scales at around 8,000 pounds—give or
take. She eats about a quarter ton of food every day and drinks about 190
liters of water.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Geneva; letter-spacing: 1.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝";">Just think of
how many humans could be hired to do this same manual labor—and they'd eat and
drink a lot less. The humans would, of course, have other duties around the
circus, but their primary function would be the daily raising of the tent with
its 160-foot-diameter. There is huge entertainment value in this, as well as a
cost savings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Geneva; letter-spacing: 1.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝";">So, later in
the day when I was talking with President Obama, again, about the unemployment
situation here in the U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A, I outlined legislation proposing
humans, not elephants, be used as tent raisers. I told him, I know he's against
this top-down economic mess the Republicans got us into, so this would be a
top-up program.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Geneva; letter-spacing: 1.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝";">As usual, the
Prez was a step ahead of me. He said the idea has merit. He thought the
symbolism of elephant pictures would make it easy for Congress to understand
and hard for them to object to. But in the end, he said, elephants still work for peanuts, we don't have problems with them climbing that fence in Arizona, and we don't require birth certificates. Plus, they're only about 1 percent of the work force.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Geneva; letter-spacing: 1.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝";">What if an elephant gets sick, I asked.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Geneva; letter-spacing: 1.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝";">Prez said, one-percenters know how to take care of their own.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Geneva; letter-spacing: 1px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Geneva; letter-spacing: 1px;">Lisa at play</span></div>
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<br /></div>Clyde Witthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06963323844097867605noreply@blogger.com1